1)Domestic Violence Cases (POST)

***(Make sure you watch the video to help you answer this) 8 Sentences Min***

Another specialized court that exist in many jurisdictions include domestic violence courts.

These courts concentrate on the safety of the victim, the prosecution of abusers, and the rehabilitation of those convicted of DV related crimes. They can be very effective.

Watch the video in the following link and read about this hearing. http://www.wftv.com/news/local/video-shows-judge-b…

If you can't hear the video (I wasn't able to), you can still read part of the transcript below.

Some things to consider and write about:

Why might a domestic violence victim not want to show up for court, even if she is being abused and going to court to testify would protect her life? What can prosecutors do to help encourage victims to come to court? What happens when a victim isn't available to testify? Do you agree with what the judge did in this case? Why or why not?

2) Write a helpful response to the students paragraph, stating how you agree and why followed by your opinion on the topic. keep it positive! 5 Sentences Min

Students Paragraph:

In working at Victim’s Assistance for the District Attorney’s Office, I came in contact with number of domestic violence victims. One thing I noticed during my time there was that victims were less likely to show up for court if they did not have a support system. Even if their testimony would protect them in the long run they would not follow through with the process if they did not have family, friends, and effective victim advocates supporting them. I believe prosecutors could help encourage victims to come to court by being more sympathetic, and providing a team of personal supporters that are accessible to the victim during the entire process for whatever they may need. If a victim isn’t available to testify they can be found in contempt of court like this week’s video. Personally, I do not agree with the judge in this case because one would have to consider that everyone has different levels of anxiety, and thresholds for what they can or cannot handle. As a judge she should be mindful that everybody is different, and for some people testify my cause more trauma or harm than just forgetting about the situation in an attempt to move on.

3)Drug Courts (POST)

***(Make sure you watch the video to help you answer this) 8 Sentences Min***

We are talking this week about "Specialized Courts."

One very common type of specialized courts are drug courts.

Review the following link: http://www.nadcp.org/learn/what-are-drug-courts. It gives a good overview of what drug courts do and their main purposes.

Then find "Headlines" on the right of the webpage. Choose one of the topics and click on it. Read the article and share what you learned.

4) Write a helpful response to the students paragraph, stating how you agree and why followed by your opinion on the topic. keep it positive! 5 Sentences Min

Students Paragraph:

In the TED talk “Drug Court, Justice meets Treatment” by Chief Justice of New Hampshire’s Superior Court Tina Nadeau, Nadeau goes on to explain how effective drug courts can be. They focus on treating people in order for them to stop substance abuse through positive techniques such as checking in everyday, random drug tests, and interactive conversations with their peers and judges. Drug courts help address more of the issues people who suffer from addiction face in reality by being able to continue to be part of their community & being held accountable for their actions. For example, drug courts recognize that people suffering from addiction do not benefit from being incarcerated because it typically enables them to continue to be addicted to substance when they get out. Prison is not a “real life” situation, when they are released back into the community they are faced with their present issues. I was aware that there is more negative effects that rise from being incarcerated, what I found surprising to learn is just how much less costly it is for drug court for one person versus that same person spending a year incarcerated. It seems that the drug court approach is much more team-oriented, meaning all the criminal justice members working together to address positive behavior rather than just punishing bad behavior. It's refreshing to learn that a more personal approach (judge getting to know people more personally) has such positive results.